Travel editor, Karen T. Bartlett rounded up a huge list of summer water adventures in Southwest Florida for your family to enjoy. Whether it is looking for shells, parasailing, kiteboarding, kayaking, fishing looking for manatees, island-hopping and more, she has it. Keep this page bookmarked for ideas all summer long!
My children grew up on (and in) the water here in Southwest Florida, so together we've earned our dolphin researcher badges, gone scoop-netting for seahorses and baby octopi, paddled beneath spooky tunnels in the Ten Thousand Islands, and most of the other experiences I've chosen in this issue. As for the rest, stay tuned for future issues of Neapolitan Family. - KTB
Most Memorable Sea Creature Encounters
Sanibel Sea School: Half-day beach and sea creature discoveries for Li'l Sea Squirts, a coral reef snorkeling sleepaway camp for older kids and more. SanibelseaSchool.org • (239) 472-8585
Adventures in Paradise Sea Life Encounter Excursion: The super-fun, biologist-guided big yellow boat takes you to an uninhabited island for scoop netting in the seagrass flats to discover tiny crabs, octopi, and seahorses. Port Sanibel Marina just before the toll booth. AdventureInParadise.com • (239) 472-8443
Best Teens & Tweens Family Sailing Course
Steve and Doris Colgate Sailing School: Held at Tween Waters Resort (Captiva Island) and Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina (Fort Myers Beach). In one week, even beginners can get certified to skipper a big yacht! OffshoreSailing.com • (239) 454-1700
Best Kids' Scuba Lessons
Start in the pool at age 8, work up to PADI certification with the pros! Scuba Outfitters of Naples also offers open water dives and dive trips for all ages and levels. ScubaOutfittersNaples.com • (239) 280-5500
Super-Close Encounters with Manatees
Get face to face with curious manatees on a gentle Jet Ski tour through the mangroves near Marco Island with long-time favorites, AviWatersports.com • (239) 777-9873 or Captain Ron's Awesome Everglades Adventures. EvergladesJetskiTours.com • (239) 259-4084
Easiest Short Boat Tours
Conservancy of Southwest Florida: A fun 45-minute electric boat cruise along the Gordon River is included in your Nature Center admission. Conservancy.org • (239) 262-0304
Naples Zoo: Primate Expedition Cruise included in zoo admission. Collier residents get in free the first Saturday of each month. NaplesZoo.org • (239) 262-5409
Best Shell-Seekers' Secret
Kice Island near Marco is accessible by boat only, but several shelling guides can take you there! Find sand dollars, fossil shells and colorful ones among the mangrove roots and sandbars, especially after a summer storm. Check out the popular four-hour tour by FloridaAdventuresandRentals.com • (239) 348-5551
Best Shuttles to Keewaydin Island
Several sightseeing boats stop briefly on the island for beachcombing. To spend a few hours or a whole day, book a shuttle.
The Fun Way from Marco Island: Hop aboard the Hemingway Water Shuttle (yes, they’re related to the Key West Hemingways!) for a picturesque ride through the back bays before drop-off on the beach. Bring your own supplies and picnic or grab eats when the food boats are there. Chairs and umbrellas are available to rent. HemingwayWatershuttle.com • (239) 315-1136
The Luxe Way from Naples: For a pampered experience, Gulf Breeze Charters provides everything from towels and canopy chairs and beach games to souvenir shell bags, kids’ buckets and shovels, and refreshments. Reservations required. NaplesWatershuttle.com • (239) 662-5574
Most Swashbuckling Pirate Cruise
The young and forever young walk the plank into the Pieces of Eight Spanish Galleon at Salty Sam's Marina, Fort Myers Beach. Get sworn in as a pirate for 90 minutes of hilarity, pirate stories and games, face painting, grog 'n grub, and pirate treasure to keep. FloridaPirateCruise.com • (239) 765-7272
Airboating Awesomeness: Thrills, Chills, & Decibels
Vroom Vroom! You know you want to! Kids love the speed, the noise from the aircraft or big truck engines and, of course, the close-up alligator sightings. Ear protection is provided. Try Seminole-owned Cory Billie’s (Naples). CbairBoatrides.com • (239) 389-7433, or EvergladesCity-AirboatTours.com • (239) 695-2400
Most Fun Kayak Lessons
Learn from paddling pro Mike Devlin with private customized instruction and tours in the protected backwaters of the Paradise Coast Blueway. From newbies to lifelong kayakers, everyone has something to learn from the paddler whose credentials include the Diana Nyad Xtreme Dream Team. ParadiseCoastKayakTours.com • (239) 450-2455
Picture-perfect Paddling
Ten Thousand Islands: Glide beneath the twisty, eerily beautiful mangrove tunnels near Everglades City. ShurrAdventures.com • (239) 300-3004
Bonita Springs: Launch from Riverside Park to time travel back centuries into Old Florida. The Estero River is part of the Great Calusa Blueway. CGTKayaks.com • (239) 221-8218
Collier-Seminole State Park: Meander along the shallow, tannin-rich Blackwater River, one of America's cleanest rivers. Its sandy banks make great picnic spots. ForidaStateParks.org
Rookery Bay National Estuarine Reserve: Paddle through the mudflats with local biologists at Rising Tide Explorers. RisingTideFL.com • (239) 734-3231
Easiest Kayaking in the Wild
On a boat assisted kayak eco-tour, the boat transports up to six guests of all skill and endurance levels to paddle and go beach combing among tiny uninhabited mangrove islands in the Everglades. MarcoIsland-BoatTours.com • (239) 695-0000
Beyond-Breathtaking Bird Rookery
Smallwood Store's Sunset Boat Tour takes you into Chokoloskee Bay, where hundreds of great blue herons, ibis, cormorants, roseate spoonbills, and more descend to roost for the night. SmallwoodStoreBoatTour.com • (239) 695-0016
Seriously Cool Ways to Catch the Big One
Capt. Jake Brossard has been chasing sharks since watching Jaws at age 10, and he knows where they live. Kids love him. SharkChaserCharters.com • (239) 777-9279
Naples native Capt. Mike and crew at Ms. B Haven Fishing Charters always earn five stars. FishInNaples.com • (239) 642-1111
Love those deep-sea fishing charter boats? The 40-foot Alabama, with shaded deck and restroom, is where a third generation of locals still take their out- of-town guests. Naples-Fishing.com • (239) 263-3317
Perfect Parasailing
It may look daredevilish from the land, but on a calm day it's like drifting through Heaven. You only get wet if you choose to. When the sun is high, it's so clear you may spot a mama sea turtle or giant fish swimming near shore.
ParadiseParasail.com: Its iconic yellow smiley faces have been flying over Fort Myers Beach for 40 years. (239) 472-5577
MarcoIslandWatersports.com at JW Marriott Beach Resort
NaplesBeachWatersports.com at The Ritz-Carlton Naples. (239) 642-2359
YoloWatersports.com on Captiva Island. (239) 472-YOLO
Everything Everywhere All at Once
However you like to play on the water — Jet skis, dolphin tours, deep-sea fishing, sightseeing aboard the iconic Double Sunshine (or more), Pure Florida has you covered! There's even a monthly three-hour sail aboard the MV Edison Explorer with your best fur-buddy. Summer Bark on the Ark dates: June 8, July 13, August 10, and Sept 14. Visit the Pure Florida hut at Tin City. PureFl.com • (239) 263-4949
Best Spot to Watch the Kiteboarders
The pros and practically-pros gather on the beaches north and south of the Naples Pier, whenever the wind is up, especially 4th Ave S. Visit NaplesPaddleboard.com • (239) 601-2700
Best Excursion for Key Lime Pie and Cheeseburgers in Paradise
Take the double decker Lady Chadwick for a lunch cruise from Captiva Island to Cabbage Key with a pod of resident dolphins cavorting in your wake. Cruise, have lunch, walk the trail, climb the water tower, cruise back. Perfect! CaptivaCruises.com • (239) 472-5300
Coolest Catamaran tours: Huge, Tiny, and In-between
The Huge: The 53-foot Sweet Liberty, moored at Naples City Dock, is the region's largest and most famous sightseeing catamaran. Fun narratives, covered cabin benches, snack bar and restrooms on board. Its baby sister, the new 23-foot Sweet Tiki, takes up to six passengers to Keewaydin. SweetLiberty.com • (239) 793-3525
The Tiny: Two-person CraigCat Tours. With 30 HP motors, they look like kid toys but zoom like a boss. BackwaterAdventure.com, (239) 293-9004. For families with kids aged 2 and up, check out the Lil' Beans pontoon at CoolBeansCruises.com, (239) 277-0020.
The In-Between: The 45-foot motor powered catamaran Calusa Spirit is a family favorite. It departs directly from the beachfront at two Marco Island locations. MarcoIslandWatersports.com • (239) 263-2359
Best All-day Everglades Eco-safari
Everglades Day Safari picks up guests in a colorful tour van at local hotels and pickup points between Fort Myers and Naples for a taste of everything Everglades: nature walk, airboating through a sawgrass prairie, scenic cruise, and a delicious southern lunch. EcoSafari.com • (239) 472-1559
Coolest Way to Earn Your Dolphin Researcher Badge
Join the DolphinExplorer's official research crew for a three-hour expedition to identify and catalog dolphin activity and habits in estuaries around Marco Island. Look for mamas and babies, and if you discover a new one, you get to name it. Dolphin-Study.com • (239) 642-6899
Best Luxury Yacht for a Birthday Party
Bring your own cake and party favors or book the whole 105-foot Naples Princess and have it catered. Kids (and grownups) can help the captain steer. Perfect for multi-generational family reunions too. NaplesPrincessCruises.com • (239) 649-2275
And a Great Way to Keep Going!
Key West Express: Take the 3.5-hour jet-powered catamaran from Fort Myers Beach for a full day round trip or overnight in the “Conch Republic." KeyWestExpress.net • (239) 463-5733
Our Travel Editor, Karen T. Bartlett, scours the globe for interesting and unique experiences to share with our readers. Her work has been published in scores of magazines and tourism guides in several countries. She's the author/photographer of a dozen destination books and is the publisher of the "Mostly Kids' Guides" family guidebook series (KarenTBartlett.com).